MRS. CLEAN wrote:

I remember asking specifically how long the job would take (electrical
svc panel) and he said "I don't know." He actually refused to give an
estimate on labor. We all know that this job should take 2-3 hrs. He
then said about the same as parts (labor).

That is $333 per hour.

Does it say stupid on my forehead? Don't pee on my leg and tell me
it's raining.

I can't tell about the forehead from here. Post a picture.

The "we all know" part doesn't compute. Job conditions and electrician
speed vary greatly. If you take your car in for service they have a
sign that reads that they'll compute it hourly or by the book rate.
Service panel changes are close to a book rate around this area. If
your electrician knows that everybody and his brother electrician get
$1500 for a service panel (or whatever), then there's not a big
incentive for him to knock the price down. They're running a business,
right?

Some contractor's are loathe to estimate hours on something they're
bidding as a lump sum because other people, you for example, might use
those numbers against them in an effort to chisel them down.

Find a contractor you can trust, try not to be too much of a pain in
the ass, and move on to the next windmill.

R